


An Easy Decision

by oliv213



Category: Harley Quinn (Cartoon 2019)
Genre: Angst, F/F, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Near Death Experiences
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:07:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24249292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oliv213/pseuds/oliv213
Summary: "She thought back to Ice-Man, about how fucking insane she thought he was for being so willing to die for someone. Just- die for them. She was upset then, because it was then that she realized she had never actually felt love. Not like that. Not the real painful you-mean-it kind.But she did, she always had, and this was the time to really show Ivy she meant it, it wasn’t just words, it never was.So, letting go, was an easy enough decision."
Relationships: Pamela Isley/Harleen Quinzel
Comments: 7
Kudos: 235





	An Easy Decision

**Author's Note:**

> I saw one clip from this show and in one week it fully sucked me in like a black hole. I guess I watch DC animated series' now? I don't know what's happening. I'm in love with the way this show handles Ivy and Harley's relationship and the way they portray all their characters honestly. These weirdos kissed! Honestly dying to see the awkwardness that ensues next episode. 
> 
> My tumblr is @ imwithlindacardellini if you want to message me or send prompts my way! Trying it out! Thanks!

It was an easy enough decision. 

Harley had been thinking about it maybe for forever, but definitely since yesterday. It was all she could think of really for every minute since then. 

There’s something that had always stuck with her, about her relationship with Joker. 

As much as she tried to hate the guy, as much disdain and disgust she had for him, there was still a part of her that felt sympathetic toward him. The Dr. Harleen Quinzell that was still very much inside of her. The part of her that was all heart, that could so easily empathize with a patient, still cared for Joker. 

That was, up until he killed Ivy. 

Harley knew deep down that the guy didn’t love her, but until then she felt maybe there was still somethin’. There was a bit of hope she was still holding that maybe someone really did care for her. Love her like in those stupid fucking Disney movies with the dwarfs and the princesses. Lest it be in his own psychopathic and complicated way. 

Well, at least she had the dwarf part, even if it was just one,  _ and _ he was a dick. Still counts. 

But no, when Joker had taken Ivy from her something had changed. She wanted to kill him. Exact a revenge that she knew would never bring back her best friend. And that’s what Ive was, her absolute best friend. They were partners, cohorts, best buds, leaders of their evil villain crew. It made Harley furious with herself that she hadn’t seen it ‘til then. It was just hours before that they were discussing just how unreliable Harley was. How bad of a friend she had been. Having Ivy not trust her, not be able to count on her, felt horrible. It made Harley hate herself, she was chasing this feeling of being wanted by someone who was never going to really love her. She thought that’s what she wanted. It was more like fulfilling some insecurity from the past which was less about Joker, and much more about Harley feeling absolutely unloveable. 

But once Ivy was on the ground, unable to breath, blood or chlorophyll or whatever was in her half-plant half-human body rushing out from her middle, Ivy became deeply aware of what the person lying on the ground meant to her. 

She was losing her person. Her friend. The only person who constantly protected her, who stood up for her, who challenged her and made Harley laugh so hard she could pee herself. Ivy  _ understood  _ Harley. They understood each other. They could look into each other's eyes and talk shit about everyone in the room without having to say a word. 

Harley knew what “I love you” meant in that moment. She just knew. She loved Ivy so much. Loved her more than anyone else could ever love her. Loved her so much she thought if she wished hard enough she could bring her back to life. Harley begged everything in the universe then that if they gave Ivy back to her that she would never betray the woman again. 

Of course that’s how she felt when she had visited Ivy’s grave. She was annoyed that Kiteman was there, knowing that he had no idea what she and Ivy had. Knowing that what they had was much more important to Ivy than anything that she had with Kiteman. 

And then the guilt would seep in, because Kiteman was a good guy, even if he was also a huge dork, and Ivy loved him. 

And wasn’t that exactly what she had promised herself she would stop doing? She wanted to stop getting in the way of Ivy’s happiness. She wanted to care about what was best for her, even post-mortem. 

Except Harley was lucky, so lucky, the luckiest girl in the entire world in fact because her girl was made of plants! Stupid fucking gorgeous green plants that with the help of Harley’s tears, brought her back to life. 

And then they had killed Joker, wiped the guy out, turned him into a pile of bricks. 

And Harley felt nothing toward him. Nothing at all but good fucking riddance to that theatrical bat-horny dickbag. But something had still stood out to her about Joker, something she couldn’t seem to wrap her head around, even after all these years. 

His story. His story was so so heartbreaking. You’d think a kid who loved a ferret would be able to grow up and not be such a punk-rock psychopath. Harley didn’t care for him anymore, not at all, but she knew a piece of her heart could always sympathize with that kind of a story. 

But then yesterday, Harley is sitting at the bar with Ivy, reciting all of her memories and maybe being a little smug about it, and smiling when she thinks of how Ivy had protected her, even then. She thinks, ‘I wish I would have just dated her instead of Joker’. 

And that’s it. It slams into Harley harder than the concrete surface of a giant pool of acid. 

She should have just dated Ivy then.  _ She should have just dated Ivy then. _ She liked Ivy a lot, even then. Ivy saved her. Ivy was gorgeous and tall and always smiled at Harley like they had some shared secret. Ivy’s hands were cool and soft, silky like the petals on a flower. 

And it’s all Harley can do to stop herself from blurting it all out as she speaks, when Ivy says something that flips her world upside down. 

“...No I mean Mr. Ferris the Ficus. He was my first plant.” Ivy says it so matter of factly but for some reason Harley still isn’t catching on. “I don’t understand.” She muses. 

“Harls, that was  _ my _ story. I told it in group therapy. Joker probably just stole it and weirdly changed it into a ferret.” Ivy rolls her eyes. 

And it takes a minute again, once Harley is done ranting about all the stupid fucking ferret murchandise she wasted money on, but the idea settles. 

The seed that had been planted for Harley to “fall in love” with joker, was his childhood story.  _ Ivy’s _ story. Not his at all- that lying maniacal son of a bitch. Ivy was right too, Harley was the only one who fell for that shit, but never again. She would give credit to the people who really deserved it from now on. And one person deserved it the most. 

Ivy was the kid who loved something so much it was taken away from her. Ivy’s father was abusive, hit her. Ivy turned against all human kind because she had been shown that all humans weren’t worth a thing, were evil and angry and violent. 

But there was a piece of Ivy's story that was a stark contrast to the Jokers. 

She had changed. All it took was one person, and Ivy had entertained the possibility that not every human was worthless. She saw Harley for what she was, a caring person, an amazing psychiatrist, a smart, independent, and strong woman, a good friend. 

Maybe a little bit of a crazy bitch. 

Ivy saw her from the start, valued her from the start. Ivy has done everything for her since then. Had protected her, helped lead her out of an abusive relationship, had fought for her and not expected anything in return but friendship and trust. 

Harley had broken that trust, and had occupied all of Ivy’s time with helping her with schemes and plans and coming to her rescue every time she was in trouble. Not anymore. Harley knew now even more than ever before that she had to let Ivy have something for once. She had to let Ivy be happy. 

So despite the sudden realization that Harley was completely and unequivocally attracted to someone who was- so unbelievably hot, like smart-hot. Like, Ivy is so fucking smart and tall and strong- so strong and she’s like- super into botany and wow Harley suddenly realized  _ why _ she felt so good when she touched Ivy, or when Ivy touched her. The safety and the electricity and the shyness, because oh my god sometimes Ivy would do something that made Harley unbelievably  _ shy _ . That made Harley want to blush as if she was some sort of inexperienced teenager. That made Harley’s breath short and chest expand in that stuttery way where she felt-  _ crazy _ -

But- but despite all that- Harley was going to do everything she could to make Ivy happy. Which meant Harley would have to help her get married to the man that she was engaged to, obviously. Harley would stop rolling her eyes at his antics and start... laughing at his jokes. Which may well be the hardest thing she’s ever had to do. 

That was the vow she had made- yesterday. Before they were captured by Two-Face. Before Ivy had stood in front of a court and gone headfirst into the pit along with Harley. Harley tried, she really did, to make a plan to get them out, to make sure Ivy would get married, be happy with-  _ Kiteman _ . 

Harley had messed up the plan, just like she messed up everything else for Ivy. But Ivy, being the smartest person in the entire freaking universe, managed to start a riot anyway. 

And then there was Bane. Stupid, gigantic, idiotic, poetry-waxing, Bane. 

Harley knew when he said those words. She knew exactly what she was going to do. 

_ “You can not run from your problems Harley. Hate weighs you down. Only love sets us free.”  _ He screeched the words out in usual Bane fashion, but Harley got the message loud and clear. 

She loved Ivy. It was that simple. She loved Ivy and so she wasn’t going to drag her down into the flames with her. She wanted Ivy to be happy and alive, more than she wanted herself to be. 

She thought back to Ice-Man, about how fucking insane she thought he was for being so willing to die for someone. Just- die for them. She was upset then, because it was then that she realized she had never actually felt love. Not like that. Not the real painful you-mean-it kind.

But she did, she always had, and this was the time to really show Ivy she meant it, it wasn’t just words, it never was. 

So, letting go, was any easy enough decision. 

With Ivy's legs wrapped tightly around her middle, she only had to say one word, and Ivy knew. 

“ _ Ivy. _ ”

Ivy tightened her legs reflexively, immediately going into panic mode. “No.” 

She sinks her fingers deeper into Ivy’s sides, squeezing, trying to let Ivy know that she loves her, really loves her. She also just wants to  _ feel  _ her, her warm body real and strong beneath the press of Harley's hands, one last time. “It’s okay.” Harley nearly whispers it to her, their last words being for no one else but each other.

//

“Don’t, don’t do this.” Ivy was angry, she wanted to practically yell at Harley for even imagining she would let go at this point. The idea was absurd, neither of them were going to die, Ivy would never allow it. 

Harley's chin pressed into her waist as she spoke, the warmth from the fire below making her skin glow and shimmer with sweat, her eyes were big and blue and they were shining up at Ivy more earnest than she had ever seen them. “Have a good life, get married, make babies. Name ‘em Harley. The girls and boys.”

“ _ Harley. _ ” It wasn’t happening, Harley was not doing a good-bye speech right now, now was not the time. They had to figure out how the hell they were going to get out of here. 

Didn’t she get it? Ivy wasn’t going to let her die. She just wouldn’t let her, it wasn’t going to fucking happen, end of discussion. 

“See? It totally works.” Harley’s face changed then, her eyes became lidded, her smile went soft, her eyebrows pinched with an emotion Ivy was trying damn hard to decipher. “You know I love you. Bye, Ive.”

And dread went through Ivy then. Pure, guts out all over the place, dread. Because she felt Harley squeeze her torso  _ hard _ , and then her limbs began to loosen. 

Ivy could do nothing and it killed her. She watched as Harley slipped from her legs. Watched as gravity took her. There was nothing to be done. Harley was free-falling and at the bottom was fire. At the bottom was no more Harley Quinn. 

The thought shook Ivy, giving her a stomach rush that was more than just the side effect of flying thousands of feet head-first out of a giant pit. 

Then Ivy went blind. All she knew was jumping right back down into the flames, the vines being controlled totally by her subconscious. All she knew was  _ Harley Harley, save Harley  _ on autopilot as she reached her hands out desperately to grab any piece of her in sight. 

And she did it.

She felt Harley’s hand solidly against hers and pulled like hell. As they flew up she couldn’t help but cling closely to Harley, not let an inch of tension go until they were on the warm desert floor. She couldn’t help but feel giddy at the weight of Harley cradled in her arms. Harley clinging to her neck, holding onto her like she’d be dead if she didn’t. 

Which- wasn’t technically far from the truth. 

And then it was just this girl, ( _ Ivy’s _ girl, her  _ person _ , the one fucking thing she really cares about on this stupid horrible floating rock) and the empty desert for miles. There was no one else. Just Ivy, and Harley, and a million stars cooling the desert minute by minute. 

“ _ Hi _ .” Ivy could barely breathe but oh my god Harley was right in front of her and they had escaped, they did it. “ _ We did it.”  _ It was breathless and happy. Adrenaline spiking through Ivy like ebulant waves. She felt better than she remembered ever feeling, more grateful and jubilant than a thousand plants could ever make her. 

Harley's face was a beautiful sight. Just absolutely gorgeous. 

Ivy didn’t think. Didn’t speak. She just knew that Harley had almost died and she needed to be as close to her as possible. 

Harley careened into her. Wrapping her arms around Ivy’s shoulders and kissing with a desperation that felt addicting. 

Ivy kissed her, hard, and felt something settle inside her chest. A loose piece of rock shimmying it’s way out of her heart and melting into her stomach. Warm and content and like all she needed was this, just the pure and unarguable evidence that Harley was alive against her. That they were close as they could possibly get. 

//

Harley had never felt anything this strong. Harley felt things that were... over the top most of the time to say the least. She had felt enormous anger, she had felt crazy passion, she had even thought she felt love. 

This was unimaginably different. She wanted to crawl inside Ivy's skin, and she had met enough supervillains in her lifetime to know that that was probably a little psycho, but it was true. She wanted to curl into Ivy’s chest and just stay there until the desert sun peaked from the edges of the earth. She wanted to be so close she could no longer feel any air between their bodies. 

As over the moon as she was to finally be able to do something for Ivy, to prove that she really really meant it when she said she cared, she was a little happy about bein’ alive. 

She didn’t realize how much she wanted it ‘til then. She didn’t want to die. She wanted to be right here next to her best friend. Next to the only person in the world she really loved. Like, irrevocably and unequivocally  _ loved _ . 

She also felt somethin’ she never felt kissin’ anyone else. She felt safe. She felt like Ivy would always be there to save her. She knew she would  _ always _ be there to save Ivy, not a chance in hell she would be lettin’ go ever again. 

She whimpered a little into Ivy’s mouth as they turned slightly, pressing harder into each other.

Then they turned back, and Harley had to take a breath, wanting to look at the woman in front of her one more time to be sure she was real, alive. 

Ivy was sitting in front of her, her best friend. Her best friend who was currently looking at her in shock. 

Then it hit her. 

They were definitely  _ not _ supposed to be kissing, and Ivy was definitely not supposed to be kissing her on a count of she had a kite-obsessed  _ fiancé  _ back home. 

Harley backtracked in her mind at about a thousand miles per hour. 

She had done it, she had messed things up for Ivy again, and what the hell was she gonna do now? 

  
  



End file.
